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The introductory noncalculus physics course at most colleges and universities is a two-semester survey of classical topics (i.e., roughly pre-20th century ideas) capped off with selected materials from what’s called modern physics. Schaum’s Outline of College Physics was designed to complement just such a course, whether given in high school or college. The requisite mathematical knowledge includes basic algebra, some trigonometry, and a bit of vector analysis, much of which will be discussed as needed, and can be learned as the reader progresses through the book. There are several appendixes for those who wish to review these subjects.
The main focus of this text is to teach problem solving. Everyone who has ever taught physics has heard the all-too-common student lament, “I understand everything; I just can’t do the problems.” Nonetheless most professors believe that doing problems is crucial to understanding physics. Like playing the piano, one must learn the basics, the theory, and then practice, practice, practice. A single missed note in a sonata may be overlooked; a single error in a calculation, however, will usually propagate throughout the entire analysis, producing a wrong answer. A teacher, even a great teacher, can only guide the learning process; the student must, on his/her own, master the material by studying problem solving by studying how problems of each type are analyzed. It’s part of the process to make
mistakes, discover those mistakes, correct them, and learn to avoid them, all at home and not in class on an exam. That’s what this book is all about.
In this 12th edition, much effort has gone into increasing pedagogical effectiveness. I’ve added several hundred problems, most designed to
develop the basic required analytic skills specific to each chapter. Today’s students need a more gradual introduction to approaching the particular demands of the material of each different physics topic—they need additional support in order to learn how to solve the distinctive problems associated with each individual block of concepts. To that end, I’ve added explanatory diagrams, alternative solutions, and lots of hints on how to proceed. Chapters now contain a brief section called “Problem Solving Guide,” which summarizes needed concepts, anticipates pitfalls, and offers cautionary notes that will be helpful in successfully dealing with the problems. I’ve gone over every question in the book to improve the pedagogy, removing possible ambiguities and making the questions more easily apprehended. All of this was field-tested and fine-tuned in countless exams in my many college-physics classes over the several years since the last edition.
